Madrid City Council refuses to terminate police chief

Thursday

MADRID — The Madrid City Council refused to fire its police chief last week in an emotionally-charged special meeting.

The council unanimously voted last Thursday to refuse to accept a termination letter from Madrid Mayor Kurt Kruse against Tasler. Kruse was not allowed to vote in the motion.

People in the packed crowd held “I SUPPORT MADRID PD” signs with a blue stripe across the middle, a common sign of support for law enforcement, and erupted in a cheer after the vote was completed.

Tasler was later seen hugging members of the audience and blowing kisses to others as they filed out of the room.

The small town in southern Boone County has been the target of lawsuits (one closed, one ongoing) from Justin Brewer, a Madrid native who lives in nearby Woodward, suing Tasler, former officer Nick Millsap and the city for police brutality.

In that suit, Brewer alleges Tasler punched him “three to four times” in the face after Tasler ordered him to leave a beer tent during a Labor Day event in 2016. The city has denied Brewer’s version of events, saying he became belligerent toward officers first.

Brewer has also alleged several other incidents of brutality from the department.

The trial is set to begin in U.S. District Court next June, according to court records.

Former Mayor Dirk Ringgenberg resigned in April, previously saying he was involved in the ongoing suit. He didn’t elaborate further.

Before the vote on Tasler, Councilwoman Val Chapman’s July 17 resignation was enforced, and she was relocated to a seat in the audience after multiple other council members and members of the audience demanded the sergeant-at-arms remove her from the table.

In her letter, Chapman said she no longer had the support from residents to serve in her office.

“Personally, I have no idea how this community can heal from this divide,” her letter read.

Kruse told the Boone News Republican Chapman left due to push back about a system that connects various law enforcement agencies together to share their locations via GPS, which residents vigorously objected to in several previous council meetings.

Before leaving, Chapman said a state ombudsman said she still had a right to be at the table because it’s not clear if the city officially acted on her resignation letter, but left of her own volition.

Madrid residents have repeatedly resisted any suggestion for the Boone County Sheriff’s Office to take over law enforcement in the city, or for the Madrid Police Department to be dissolved.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tasler said the vote and the amount of people from the community in attendance at Thursday’s meeting show he has ongoing support to stay in his office.

He said any attempts to remove him from office were made due to a personal vendetta from Kruse, and it contained either “opinion” or brought up previous misdeeds that he was already disciplined for.

In 2010, Tasler was suspended for five days without pay after he posted a video showing him holding a gun to a sparring partner while promoting a mixed martial arts fight Tasler was training for.

“The support that we have here, I’ve earned it. I’ve never been handed anything in my 20 years in full-time law enforcement … and to have someone try to take it from me for a personal agenda will not be stood for,” he said.

He was referring to his support for another candidate in this week’s special election for mayor and Ward 2, but repeatedly declined to say which one while in uniform.

The special election was requested by local residents after the current mayor, Kurt Kruse, said he wanted Tasler removed from office. The other two candidates have expressed support for Tasler.

Tasler also called the ongoing lawsuits frivolous, saying the city will get through them “as a team.”

Kruse told reporters he would like to see Tasler removed, but will leave that decision up to voters when they cast their votes in the special election.

Glen Downey, an attorney representing clients with active suits against the city, said the vote will bring more lawsuits and ultimately force the Madrid Police Department to dissolve because its insurance company will refuse to take on the risk.

“It’s my belief after watching the last council meeting that the citizens want their own local police force, that should be their own decision to make,” he said. “Unfortunately with this decision, what they’re doing is putting that ultimately in the hands of the insurance company.”